San Martin de Los Andes may have the smallest airport I have ever flown into. There is one gate. The town itself is popular as a tourist destination because of a nearby ski resort and because of Lago Lacar, and has numerous restaurants and shops. After our too short sleep at Hotel Viejo Esquiador, we were met by our guides from the Limay River Ranch and drove the two and a half hours to the ranch.

Ron Sorenson has been our fishing guide in Montana for over twenty five years. He married Vanessa, an Argentine woman from San Martin de Los Andes and dreamed of creating a fishing lodge near her home town. Five years ago his dream came true with the opening of the Limay River Ranch, which has exclusive fishing access to a large and productive stretch of the Limay River below the Pichi Picun Leufu hydroelectric dam.

The camp is entirely off grid, with solar power and battery storage and consists of six guest cabins and a main dining hall. Each morning of our stay we set out after breakfast with our guide and drift boat to fish a section of the river. The big prize is brown trout that can exceed 28 inches long and fight like mad. We didn’t catch any of these, but got plenty of rainbow trout that were 18 to 20 inches long, leapt from the water and left your arm sore from the fight. Everything is catch and release.

We would stop mid afternoon for a shore lunch, and then fish into the evening. With the long summer days it was still daylight when we got back to the ranch for cocktails and dinner, and the food was excellent. One night featured a barbecue of a whole lamb, with good Argentine Malbec and Chardonnay to complement the menu.